


With Many a Winding Turn

by ambiguously



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Family, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-12
Updated: 2020-02-07
Packaged: 2021-02-27 04:42:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22231237
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ambiguously/pseuds/ambiguously
Summary: On the run from Thrawn, Ezra finds himself in a future he never imagined.
Relationships: Ezra Bridger & Jacen Syndulla, background Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios, background Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla
Comments: 28
Kudos: 149
Collections: Past Imperfect Future Unknown 2019





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rivulet027](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rivulet027/gifts).



Just a little farther. Behind him, Ezra heard the quick march of the stormtroopers in pursuit. Ahead of him, he sensed a powerful nexus of Force energy. On this savage world, trapped with enemies who wanted revenge for his trick with the Purrgil, Ezra would take any advantage he could get. He pushed himself to run faster despite his fatigue.

He'd been imprisoned for three days, ever since their arrival in ships half-crushed and past repair from the rough clutches of their tentacled transportation. Admiral Thrawn had ordered him to be locked up while he sorted out his plans for their survival and his meticulous revenge on Ezra for stranding them somewhere their long-range comms could not make contact with the Empire. Ezra hadn't been fed in those three days. His only drink had been a trickle of warm water dripping through the cracked shell of the hull above him from the humid rainforest they'd crashed into. The guards hadn't given him anything for the wound in his shoulder, either. The dull throb prevented him from sleeping, and he worried infection would set in to kill him before Thrawn did.

His luck had given him an inattentive guard and his powers had broken open the crack into a hole large enough for him to escape through. Now he ran, with nowhere to run. He felt the energy beckoning him, and with no other plan, he dashed towards it even as his captors closed ground behind him.

A blaster bolt sizzled by his head. Hungry, exhausted, Ezra found another burst of speed in his feet. He didn't know what he'd do when he reached his target. He'd fall prostrate on the forest floor in front of it, or he'd turn and stand and fight with his last breath.

He broke through the thick fronds of the fern thicket, and stumbled into a tiny clearing. He wasn't sure what he'd expected. A meter-wide flower, the uncomfortable color of decaying flesh and smelling just as bad, was not on the list. In his mind, the flower glowed with the Force. Ezra went to his knees in front of it, and placed his hand against one huge petal, which pulsed with a distressing warmth. Wordless, hungry, and in pain, he reached out blindly with his powers.

His senses overloaded with light, color, scent, and sound. A million parsecs away, he heard the stormtroopers shouting.

Ezra fell with a painful thump to the ground. Rather than of mulched, thick dirt built over ten thousand years from decaying vegetable matter, he felt cold, hard stone under his face. He was in near-darkness. The Force surrounded him.

"What the hell?" The voice was directly behind him.

Ezra pushed himself up, steeling himself for a fight he was too tired to win. Instead of the stormtroopers, he saw only one foe: a human, male, a few years older than he was, and wearing the casual garb of a spacer rather than an Imperial uniform. He didn't appear to be attacking, and wore a comical expression of surprise as he fell back from where he'd been sitting on the cool, stone floor. A glowlamp sat beside him, illuminating the small, dark space.

"Hi," Ezra said, forcing a quick smile on his face. He must have fallen into a cave below the forest. The stormtroopers would find him any minute. "We should get out of here. There are some people after me you don't want to meet."

The guy frowned and peered past Ezra. "Are they also going to show up in a flash of light?"

Flash of what? Ezra craned his head up, expecting to see daylight through the hole where he'd fallen. Instead he saw the shadows of the cave ceiling, thick with old stalactites. The flower's energy was nowhere near him, but he did feel the Force everywhere he looked, and emanating in a familiar way from the man.

Ezra rubbed his head. "I've had a very weird couple of days. Did you say I just appeared in a flash of light?"

The man nodded. "I'd heard there were strange happenings in these old temples. I came here hoping for a vision to guide me."

His suspicion had been correct. "You're a Jedi."

A cagey look covered the man's face. "Who's asking?"

"It's all right. I am, too."

The caution didn't leave, but the man edged closer. "That's funny, because I know all the Jedi, or I did." He picked up his glowlamp and moved it closer to Ezra, who blinked away the brighter light. His new friend sucked in a breath of air and pulled back again. The shock on his face eclipsed his earlier surprise.

"Ezra."

Ezra gave him a little wave. "Hi. You know who I am?"

"You could say that." A series of emotions passed over his face. "I'm Jacen. It's really good to meet you, Ezra." He seemed overwhelmed.

"Nice to meet you, too. Where are we?"

Jacen held up the lamp, lighting up the darker corners. Against one wall, Ezra saw strange, unsettling carvings which somehow had more dimensions than mere chips out of stone should contain. Against another, he saw a series of shelves holding cracked jars and urns. "This is the remnant of a Jedi temple," Jacen explained. "There was a reference to it in one of Luke's old books. I thought it might be worth a look." He brought the light back to Ezra. "Why are you here? How are you here?"

He shrugged. "You tell me. We were stranded. I got free and found this weird plant that had the Force. Next thing I know, I'm here."

"Stranded? You mean with the Seventh Fleet? But you're so young."

Ezra hid his chuckle. He hadn't felt young in a while. "If you say so. Yeah, the Purrgil dropped us at some planet three days ago and left us there."

Jacen's expression went still. "You're telling me the attack on Lothal was three days ago?"

"Maybe four or five. We were in hyperspace a long time. I don't think anyone came through with me to this place. We should be safe here."

"Yeah," Jacen said, still staring at Ezra's face. Then he shoved away whatever he was thinking. "I just wasn't expecting you." Ezra's stomach rumbled loudly in the small cave, and Jacen cracked a smile. "Hungry?"

"Starving."

He set down the lamp and dug into his sack, pulling out a couple of protein strips. "Here. I've brought plenty." He handed two to Ezra, who'd been hungry enough times in his life not to stand on politeness now.

"Thanks." He devoured the first one as fast as he could.

"Careful, you'll make yourself sick."

Warmth touched him. Back in his early days on the _Ghost_ , Hera had admonished him the same way when he'd been in the habit of bolting his food while it was available. She was probably worried sick about him now. Once he'd sorted out where he was, he'd send her a signal. He couldn't wait to get home.

After he ate, Jacen passed him the canteen. He was more careful about gulping water on top of his dinner. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Guess this proves you're not a ghost."

"Not the last time I checked." He sat back, his stomach feeling better and his mind ticking over his current predicament. "You said you know all the Jedi."

"Did I?" He stowed the canteen away. "I meant I've heard of everyone."

That hadn't been what he'd said, but Ezra guessed his new friend was used to hiding. Everyone had been in hiding for years. "How old are you?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. Were you a youngling at the Jedi Temple, or did someone find you like they did me?" At first glance, Ezra had thought Jacen was only a year or two older than he was, but in the light, he looked older. If he was close to Hera's age, he might be another survivor. He may even have known Kanan back in the day.

"Neither." He closed his pack and stood, then offered Ezra a hand. "Let's go back to my ship."

A ship sounded good. "Can I use your comm when we get there? I want to contact my family and let them know I'm okay."

A flinch passed over his new friend's face.

"It didn't work." The nameless worry he'd carried since the jump away from Lothal came roaring forth. "The Empire won."

Jacen stared at him, confused. "No, you won. Lothal was freed. The Empire was kicked off the planet, and they never came back."

A new worry hit him. The way Jacen had said things wasn't right. "Five days is kind of short for never."

Jacen didn't say anything, and Ezra knew.

"How long have I been gone?"

"A long time."

Jacen turned away, leading the way out through the twisting turns of the natural caves making up this old temple. The carvings on the walls twined and twisted. Had the Purrgil moved him in time as well as in space? Or had the flower?

They came out through the mouth of the cave entrance. This planet was far more temperate and mild than the rainforest where Ezra had been last. Overhead, four moons shone down with enough light to see by. "Where are we?"

"In the old records, it's called Kalo's World." Up ahead was a small cargo ship. Ezra wasn't familiar with the design.

Jacen heaved a loud sigh. "All right, so I'm where I should be."

"But I'm not." His fears had names now. "You know who I am, and you know about the attack on Lothal."

"A lot of people do. After that stunt, you were almost as famous as Luke Skywalker."

"Who?"

Jacen looked away. "And another question answered. You really haven't heard of him. I can tell you're not lying, which means this isn't some trick. You really are Ezra Bridger."

"How long have I been gone?"

Jacen wouldn't look at him, until Ezra placed a hand against his arm.

"I have to know."

"You vanished before I was born. No one ever saw you again. Ahsoka and Sabine went searching for you. They never found you." He blinked, fear and sorrow both in his eyes. "You must have wound up here instead. I was trying to connect with the Force inside that old temple. Between what I was doing and what you were doing where you were, we must have pulled you through somehow."

Ezra took this in as well as he could. He remembered yanking Ahsoka away from certain death at Vader's hands, and it seemed like he was the beneficiary of a similar save. "Ahsoka and Sabine looked for me?"

"I'm so sorry. We all held out hope they'd find you. They found the remnants of Thrawn and his forces, but your trail went cold there."

His family had given up hope years ago. "Are they...?"

"I haven't been in contact with anyone in months." He looked at his own ship. "I shouldn't be telling you this. If you go back to the past, you shouldn't know things about your future."

"It sounds like I don't have a future."

Jacen shook his head. "Look, come on board. I'll get us to a hyperlane and we'll figure out where to go from there." Reluctantly, Ezra boarded the small freighter. They entered into a cargo hold with fuel stowed securely and a few crates of food. Three tiny cabins lined the corridors, and a fourth room turned out to be the 'fresher.

"Mind if I have a shower?"

"Be my guest. I'll make some room for you in the second cabin."

Ezra didn't know the difference between any of the cabins but said thanks and slipped into the 'fresher for a scrub. He felt much better when he emerged, and found a medkit and a fresh set of clothes waiting for him. Jacen was taller than he was, but the clothes fit him well enough. A bacta patch dulled the ache in his shoulder as the medicine began absorbing into his skin. For the first time in days, maybe weeks, he no longer believed he was going to die.

"Thanks," he said, coming into the cockpit. He'd felt the hyperspace jump while he'd been under the sonic spray. It had looked so different from his viewpoint during the Purrgil jump. This was the familiar blue wash that had preceded, or ended, many of his adventures.

Jacen was studying the star maps, looking for their next jump route. "You're welcome. Your clothes will be a little out of place. We can get you something to blend in better when we make port. In the meantime we can wash them, or as another suggestion, burn them." He wrinkled his nose.

Ezra thought he should be offended, but he had been wearing those same clothes for days in a humid rainforest. "That's fair." He took a seat beside Jacen. "You don't have to tell me things if I you think I shouldn't know them, but I doubt I'm going back to my time. I wouldn't know how to get back and I was not in a great place there. They'd have shot me if they'd found me."

"You may not be better off here." Jacen turned in his chair and pointed to the star chart. "That was where Luke's school was. He brought together dozens of Force sensitives for us all to learn from one another." He tapped the screen. "Everyone was killed. I would have been killed if I'd been there, but I, uh," he made a face, "I got into an argument with someone. I grabbed a ship and flew home to cool off. By the time I got there, word had already gone out that the school had fallen. The First Order has said any other Jedi they find will be executed on sight. I've kept my head down ever since."

Ezra crossed his arms. "Sounds like when I left. The Empire hunted my master and me for years."

"And they caught up with you both." His voice was tight.

Ezra knew what it was like living on the run. "I'm still here, even if I am a little late."

Jacen relaxed. "I guess you are. That's something."

"Is anyone standing up to the Empire?"

"They're calling themselves the First Order now, and that's complicated."

Ezra shook his head. "It's not. When the bad guys invade and kill people, you fight back."

"Easy to say, less easy to make happen on a large scale. The head of the Resistance is a divisive figure. I've known her my entire life, and I like her, but a lot of people don't, and I understand their reasons. There are smaller pockets of revolutionaries, barely connected to one another. My mom runs one."

"Not you?"

"That's why I went to look for the temple on Kalo's World. Places like that, you can commune with the Force and look for wisdom. I need advice. I'm not sure what I'm meant to do. Things don't always work out well when Jedi get involved with galactic wars. Do I stay out of it, trusting in the Force to guide events? Do I throw my lot in with one of the small rebel groups, and help build the groundswell we're going to need for a major offensive later? Do I contact the Resistance and offer to help even though I'm the last person in the galaxy Leia wants to see?"

"Leia. You mean Princess Leia? Lives on Alderaan?"

"You've missed a lot."

"Sounds like it." Ezra stared out the window. It was too much information, and he was still exhausted from everything he'd been through. He'd lost over two decades of his life, more. That was a lot to process, but it wasn't the most important thing. "You said you know Ahsoka and Sabine. Were they alive the last time you heard?"

Jacen nodded. "Alive and well."

"What about Hera and Zeb? Did you ever meet them?"

This earned him an amused smile. "Yeah. The last we spoke, they were fine. Zeb got married. I don't think he and Alexsandr were even dating yet when you left."

"No." Another wash of loss hit him. "I missed everything."

"They're all going to be so happy to see you. None of them ever gave up hope. Everyone always said, 'When Ezra gets back,' like they knew you'd find your way home eventually." Ezra felt a surge of emotions from him: a lot of fondness and nostalgia and love, mixed with something that almost felt like jealousy.

"You seem to know them pretty well. And you knew who I was as soon as you saw me."

"I told you, you're famous."

"But that's not why. My family told you a lot about me."

"They told me enough." He set the next jump in the navicomputer. "Why don't you get some rest? You look worn out."

Ezra frowned. He was tired, and the thought of a comfortable bunk under him sounded great, but he also recognized when he was being redirected. Hera had done that to him plenty of times when he'd asked questions about the Rebellion she didn't intend to answer. Jacen was hiding something, and Ezra had no reason to trust him. For all he knew, his new acquaintance was delivering him to this First Empire or whatever they were calling themselves. He'd watched plenty of cheap holodramas where the curiously-helpful newcomer betrayed the hero during the third act.

On the other hand, he was exhausted, and he could fight his way out of trouble better on the other side of a nap. "That sounds good." He followed Jacen back to the crew area and into a tiny cabin. A few small boxes had been stacked against one wall, leaving him room to reach the narrow bunk.

"Apologies for the mess. I haven't had company in a while. We can clear this out more later."

"It's perfect." He sat down. "You've been really kind. I don't know how to thank you."

"It's nothing."

"I'm sorry if I ruined your chance to have a vision."

"You didn't. For all we know, you're the answer to what I was asking, and the Force is waiting for us to figure out what that means."

"Maybe." Ezra didn't feel like an answer. He felt like his eyes were barely propped open. Jacen nodded at him and left him, dimming the lights as he closed the door. Ezra was asleep in moments.

* * *

Before his brain was awake, Ezra was aware they'd come out of hyperspace, feeling the tiny jolt of inertial switch to sublight. In the low light, still half-asleep, he believed he was home on the _Ghost_. He was safe. A little sore, but safe. He'd get out of bed, wander to the galley to scrounge something for his breakfast, listen to Zeb growl before he had two cups of caf in him, avoid Chopper's elecroprobes, bother Sabine until she told him to go away, then go find Kanan in the cockpit chatting with Hera. No more weird nightmares about Purrgil and Admiral Thrawn. No bizarre visions of the future.

His eyes focused on one of the boxes beside the bunk. Not his bunk, not his cabin, not his ship. Not his time.

After visiting the 'fresher, he made his way to the cockpit of this new ship. As he reached the doorway, he heard Jacen talking to someone. Suspicion made him flatten against the wall. If he'd been sold out by this stranger, better to know now.

"I need you to be prepared," said Jacen. "He's not like you're expecting."

There was a pause. "That doesn't matter. Ezra's alive." Hera's voice. "Is he injured?"

"He's favoring his shoulder, and his shirt was burned. I haven't gotten a look yet to see how bad the wound is. He said he was being chased by stormtroopers."

"The First Order found him before we did?"

"No." He took a breath. "Ezra came through time. That's why we couldn't find him. I was working with the Force on Kalo's World, and he was working with the Force where he was. We must have forged a connection and pulled him through to now. It's my fault we never brought him home."

Ezra stepped into the cockpit. "It's not your fault. Those stormtroopers would have killed me if I hadn't come through." He looked at Hera's hologram as she turned her head to locate the sound of his voice. She was older, time etching too many losses on her face.

"Ezra?"

Jacen waved him over to the holocam. Ezra stepped into view, watching her shock grow before her expression broke into sad fondness.

"You haven't aged a day."

He cracked a smile. "I have. About five days. I heard it worked. We freed Lothal."

"Thirty years ago."

The enormity hit him. A tight sob clenched his chest, and his shoulder ached. Only Jacen's steadying hand at his arm kept him from staggering. "Hey," he said, concern all over him. "Sit down if you need to. You've been through a lot."

"I'll be fine," said Ezra. "Just give me a minute. Thirty years?"

"I was trying to ease you into it."

Hera said, "We'll catch you up. Jacen has the rendezvous coordinates. I'll let the others know you're coming."

"Keep it to just the family? I'm a little overwhelmed."

"I understand. I'll see you in a few hours. Love you."

"Love you too," Jacen said, closing the transmission and freezing as his ears caught up to his mouth. His glance slid back to see if Ezra had heard that. "Oh."

"You want to tell me?"

Jacen went to his chair, poking at the controls. "Let me get this jump calculated. Mom will be worried if we're late."

Little details Ezra had already noticed filtered back in for his consideration. With everything else he'd been told, this was a relatively minor piece of new information to digest. "You look like your father."

"I get that a lot. Mostly from Mom when she's having a tough day."

"I wish you'd told me."

"I wasn't sure I could trust you. I thought you might be some kind of First Order trick, or a spy. Never volunteer more information than you have to."

He remembered that from his earliest time on the _Ghost_ too. Hera had never given out any information unless she felt it was vital to the mission's success.

Jacen said, "You should eat. You've been out for most of a rotation." He activated the hyperdrive.

Ezra didn't point out how much that sounded like Hera back in his early days, too. He followed Jacen to the galley. "Did Sabine do your hair?"

"What?" He touched the back of his own head. "No. It grows in this way."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. It's convenient to get mistaken for human." He reached for a pan. "When's the last time you ate real food?"

"Five days ago. Zeb cooked." It hadn't been that good but even then Ezra had a premonition it would be his last meal with his friends, and he'd savored the burned sprouts.

Jacen put the pan on the single heating element and turned it on. "That's so strange to think about. You knew everyone back then because it was a few days ago for you. What were they like?"

Ezra tried to consider the question, but he didn't have any comparison. "They were themselves. Hera never told anybody anything she didn't have to, but she always made time to show each of us we were loved. Sabine started out standoffish, but after we found out about what happened with her family, she opened up and let us in even though that had to be scary for her. Zeb and I used to fight all the time at first, but he stopped being as grouchy, and I guess I stopped being as much of a pain." Ezra let out a short laugh. "He and Kallus used to hate each other."

"I heard those stories, but it's hard to picture."

Ezra had trouble picturing them married, but he guessed he'd see them soon enough. "Chopper was, well, you know what he's like."

"Yeah. I love that rustbucket, but he's a lot."

"He's still around?"

"Mom would raid an active Star Destroyer to steal parts for him if he needed them. The only way Chop's going out is with a thermal detonator in his chassis, and it's even bets he'll take out half a star system with him."

"You're not wrong about that."

Jacen rehydrated a rations pack and stirred it in the pan, toasting the contents. Ezra rested against the bulkhead, arms folded, watching as Jacen dug through a slim drawer with seasonings lined up in tiny containers. He pulled out a jar, adding a small sprinkle to the food. Ezra recognized the warm smell of idta vaporizing. That had been one of Sabine's favorites.

"There's someone you haven't mentioned." Jacen stirred the food slowly, shifting the pan to distribute the heat, not looking at Ezra.

"We lost him a few weeks ago." A raw, sad place inside his heart ached when he thought about Kanan. Time had dulled his pain over losing his parents, first to Imperial custody, and finally to the Empire's wrath. He knew the fresh wound of Kanan's loss would heal the same way, fading with the passing months and years. The others would have moved on decades ago. Ezra needed more time.

"Mom tucked me in with stories about him almost every night. You, too. I've heard so much about you both I almost feel like I know you. I guess that was the idea." Jacen turned off the heat and scooped the meal into two plates, handing one to Ezra. There was a tiny table, covered with cookware, which Jacen shoved out of their way before they sat down to eat. "According to what everybody tells me, he was a hero, but also he was just this guy."

It had to be weird growing up listening to the stories Ezra had lived. He could only imagine the new adventures his friends had survived without him, the experiences that would be mere stories to him, stories that didn't include him or Kanan. The thought hurt, even knowing he'd made his own choice to allow them to keep going on with their lives. At the end of things, they'd all be stories someone else told.

He guessed he could share one.

"Kanan was great. He was kind, and he was wise. He didn't believe in himself all the time, but he always believed in us. He saw the best parts of us even when we couldn't see that ourselves. And he was one of the best friends I've ever had."

Jacen gave him a half-smile. "That's what everyone says."


	2. Chapter 2

As they approached the _Ghost_ , Ezra took in the changes he could see. Another excursion shuttle had replaced the _Phantom II_. He didn't recognize much of the weaponry over the hull. But the warm feeling in his belly was the same as the bubble came into view, then turned away to enable the two ships to dock neatly side by side.

"Nervous?" Jacen asked him as he activated the airlock controls.

"Just happy to be home. I wasn't sure I'd ever see it again."

The hatch slid open. Zeb loomed in the doorway on the other side, working the controls to the matching airlock. "Gotta get Chopper to look at this again," he said over his shoulder, turning suddenly to the air hiss. He stared at Ezra, flummoxed for words. The skin in his face had sagged, and his beard was more gray than purple, and he blinked his huge green eyes as though he couldn't believe them.

Then he grabbed Ezra and lifted him into a bone-breaking hug. "It is you!"

Ezra's arms were trapped and he was finding it hard to breathe. He coughed out: "Sure is."

"Sorry," Zeb said, gingerly setting him down, but keeping his hands on Ezra's shoulders as he looked him up and down. "You look exactly the same."

"Yeah," said Ezra. "It's been a few days for me."

At last Zeb moved aside and let Ezra and Jacen come aboard. Hera waited at the end of the airlock ramp. She wore the same expression she had when they'd spoken, though an extra puffiness around her eyes told him she'd spent some of the time between then and now crying. "Welcome home," she said, and took him into a hug almost as tight as Zeb's.

"I wish I could have come home sooner."

"You're here now." She let go, taking his hand and squeezing. She turned her head. "I can't believe you found him."

Jacen said, "I have to admit, he was the last person I was expecting to show up."

"What can I say?" Ezra said. "I like to make a good entrance."

"By falling on your face?"

Zeb said, "Yeah, he did that a lot back then, too." He clapped Jacen on the back, jolting him. "Good job, kiddo."

They walked into the lounge, Ezra noting things that had changed. Sabine had gotten creative over the years with the bulkheads. The giant starbird still took up one wall, but it had been joined by countless other images he'd have to examine later. Ezra heard servos, and was nearly bowled off his feet by Chopper, who beeped and muttered at him that he was glad to see Ezra again.

"I missed you too, buddy," he said.

Chopper chirped that now Ezra could do his share of the cleaning. He chuckled to himself, bumped into Ezra's legs again, and rolled off.

"He actually did miss you," Hera said. "He thinks he's funny even though he's not." Chopper beeped something rude and left them there.

"Not even a hello?" Jacen called after him. The rude reply was repeated.

Ezra asked, "Where's everybody else?" He nodded to Jacen. "You said Sabine and Ahsoka were still around."

Zeb said, "They come and go. Sabine said to signal her when you were aboard. Haven't heard from Ahsoka in weeks." He went to say something else and stopped himself. Ezra guessed why.

"I hear a lot of things changed." He gestured at Hera. "You had a kid." He looked at Zeb. "You got married?"

"You told him?" Zeb glanced at Jacen, who shrugged. "Right. Well. It seemed like a good idea at the time." He looked vaguely embarrassed.

"Where is Kallus?"

"On a mission. He's supposed to be back in a couple of cycles." Ezra wasn't sure if he was imagining the worry in Zeb's voice.

Hera said, "We do a lot of intelligence work. It's easier for humans to go undercover." She gave him a thoughtful look. "No one will have seen you in decades. They'd expect a fifty year old man. That's a valuable asset."

"Tell me she always talked like this," said Jacen. "I didn't miss some golden age when Mom wasn't planning out some five-part plan against the Empire, right?"

"Actually, she's slowing down. It used to be twelve-part plans."

Zeb snorted. Hera made a face, but she was more amused than offended. "It's good to know our options. It's something for you to consider once you've settled in."

It sounded like he had a lot of things to consider, including settling in. "Do you have any of my stuff left?"

"We've got your lightsaber, though we gave away your clothes years ago. I assumed you would have outgrown them by now."

Zeb said, "Think we've got a box or two of your stuff around somewhere. I'll take a look."

"Thanks." He fought down the disorientation. "I'd love to have my lightsaber back."

"I'll get it," Jacen said. "Is it still in my room?" Hera nodded, and he went out towards the living area.

"He practiced with yours before he built his own," she told Ezra. "I didn't think you'd mind."

Part of him did mind. He'd given it to Sabine because she was his closest friend and he trusted her. It wasn't a toy. But he'd done his share of practice with Kanan's lightsaber before he'd found his own kyber crystal, and Kanan would have liked Ezra to share with Jacen when the time came. "It's fine. Thanks for holding onto it."

"Sabine carried it for years. She's got the Darksaber now, and decided carrying two was asking for even more trouble."

"Wait, how did she get that back? She's not leading Mandalore now, is she?"

"Mandalore got complicated," said Zeb.

Hera said, "Mandalore was always complicated. Let's call Sabine. She can tell you."

They walked through the ship, Ezra still picking up odd details here and there. Jacen met them with Ezra's lightsaber in hand, and passed it over. The handle looked a little worse for wear. He wondered how often Sabine had been forced to use it over the years. The weight was a comfort in his hand, and against his hip as he clipped it to his belt. "Thanks." For the first time, he noticed Jacen didn't carry one. A question for later, he decided.

The cockpit had new equipment he didn't recognize, but the long-range comm was the same. Within a few minutes, Sabine's hologram appeared in front of them. "It really is you."

Ezra nodded, speechless. Hera and Zeb had both aged, but in his head, they'd both been adults for years before he'd ever met them. Of course they were old now. Sabine had only been a year or so older than he was. The woman in front of him would have iron gray hair if she hadn't dyed it an insistent neon blue. There was enough familiarity in her voice and her face that he knew it was her, but if he'd passed her in the marketplace, he'd never have glanced at her twice.

"What happened?" she asked, ache in her eyes. "We searched for you everywhere."

"I've only been gone a few days."

"It was a Force thing," Hera said.

"Right," said Sabine. "When in doubt, blame the Force." She stared at Ezra. "Look, I'm almost done with this. I'll meet you as soon as I can. Don't leave again," she ordered. "I'll see if I can track down Ahsoka, too."

"Sabine," he said, his brain all jumbled. "Thanks for looking for me. Thanks for trying. I wish I'd been there then."

"I'm glad you weren't. We didn't find out where Thrawn was for years. You'd have been his prisoner. We thought he'd killed you. He swore he didn't, but you weren't there. You're all right."

"I'm fine. Come see for yourself."

"I will. Hera, are you staying at your current location or returning to base?"

"We'll meet you at the base."

The hologram faded away. Ezra stared at the empty space. "Thirty years?" He sank into his chair, his old chair. Who knew whose it was now? "I don't think I really believed it before now."

Hera placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be a lot to take in, but this is your home. You're safe here."

"I was only gone a few days," he said, and he hated that he kept saying it, hated that it was untrue for everyone else.

Jacen said, "Just think of them as very long days."

"That doesn't help," he said, before he noticed Jacen's smirk. He recognized that expression, even if he'd been used to seeing it on someone else's face.

"It's been a very long month," said Ezra.

Hera went to say something, and he watched something flicker through her eyes. "I suppose it has," she said quietly.

* * *

There was no chance of getting his old room back now. Jacen helped him get settled in what Ezra thought of as Kanan's cabin, and Jacen called his own. "Obviously I don't live here any more," he said. "I've got my ship."

Ezra looked around at the bright pictures all over the walls. "Sabine painted all these?"

"Most of them. The bad ones there and there are mine." He pointed to some shaky images closer to the deck. "I keep a spare change of clothes here. If they fit you, you can have them."

"You don't have to keep giving me things."

"Think of it as payback. I used a lot of your stuff when I was younger. Mom didn't give away your old clothes until I outgrew them. I got to use your lightsaber. If you'd had any toys I probably would have played with those, too."

Ezra smiled at the mental image of a green-haired kid swimming in his own old over-sized jacket. "You got all my hand-me-downs."

"Are you mad?"

"Are you kidding? I always wanted a little brother."

* * *

The new base clung to the side of a mountain on some planet Ezra had never heard of. Hera led a group of twenty ships. He recognized one or two models, but the rest were mysteries, just another ragtag bunch of ships no one else wanted. She caught his expression. "It's not any bigger than Phoenix Squadron was, I know. But they're good people."

"Jacen said Princess Leia's in charge of the Resistance."

"General Organa," she said with a careful emphasis, "is in command of the main force calling themselves the Resistance. She broke away from the New Republic a while back."

"You're not on her team?"

"It's...."

"Complicated," he finished for her. "Everyone keeps saying that."

He followed Hera and Zeb out to the base. Jacen's ship had docked in another small bay along the mountainside. He didn't seem to be a part of this group, walking past the others without any kind of acknowledgment as he hurried over to join them in the press of people needed to speak with Hera. Ezra didn't know what they were briefing her on, but it didn't seem like good news.

Zeb said, "Come on. She's going to be busy. Let's get you settled." He nodded at Jacen. "You joining up this time? Didn't expect you to follow us all the way here."

"I haven't seen Sabine in a while. I want to say hi before I head out again."

"Stay a while." He counted reasons off on his large fingers as he led them down a corridor carved into the mountain. "We could use good pilots. Your mom's in a better mood when you're around. And it's been a long time since we had any Jedi, much less two of them. Once Sabine gets back, it'll be like the old days." He nudged Ezra. "Or as you call it, yesterday."

"Yeah," said Ezra. "Of course, you didn't have as much gray hair yesterday."

Zeb pretended to be offended before he broke into a grin. "Back in the old days, I didn't think I'd live long enough to get gray hair." He stroked his beard. "Things changed."

"Everyone keeps saying that too. What happened? How badly did we lose the war?"

"Lose? We won the war." He batted the back of Jacen's head. "You told him we lost?"

Jacen rubbed his head. "I didn't give him a complete rundown of the galactic political situation."

"How complicated could it be? The Empire or whatever they're calling themselves are fighting. We need to fight back. That's what we do."

"That's what Hera says. See, you're already fitting in." Zeb showed them the small room with tables that passed for the mess, and the rooms where the pilots lived. "Over here's the command center. They'll probably make you a commander or something."

"Only if you don't remind Hera she demoted me."

"For what?" Jacen asked. "I thought you did everything perfectly. I'm sure she's out there right now telling everyone we'll win the war because Ezra's here. You all always said everything would be better when Ezra came home."

"Hey," said Zeb. "You had to know half your bedtime stories were made up when you figured out your Life Day presents weren't delivered by Father Nightshade."

"I didn't figure it out. Chopper told me."

"Chopper would," said Ezra. His own realization had come when Life Day had rolled around after his parents were taken away. Jacen at least had his mother when he was a kid, and still had her now. "I got demoted for screwing up. I went against orders on a mission, lost the first _Phantom_ , and almost got us all killed."

"Ezra messed up?"

Zeb said, "He messed up all the time. But he did some things right, too. Once you get your feet under you, you'll do things right here."

"I hope so."

* * *

Sabine's ship came in the next day. Ezra spent the hours before going back and forth about what to wear, what to say. He settled on wearing his same borrowed clothes. He would figure out what to say.

"Were you always this weird?" Jacen asked him, noticing his nervous energy.

"I'm just excited to see my best friend again. It's been a while."

"Right. Come on, I know which hangar she's being assigned. We can meet her there."

Ezra followed him out. "Where's Hera? I thought she'd come, too."

"She will. Mom is really busy. The war isn't going well, and the other cells aren't ready to organize."

Ezra shook his head. "You said I was gone for thirty years but it sounds like things haven't changed."

Sabine's ship, a three-person fighter, had just touched down. The ground crew started maintenance and refueling as Sabine climbed out. She still wore her armor, though the splashy colors he remembered were muted now. She took off her helmet, and it was the same face he'd seen in the hologram, her eyes looking him up and down. "I don't believe it," she said. "I'm seeing it, but I don't believe my eyes."

"Hey, I've always been unbelievable," he said with a nervous grin.

Her wary confusion settled into amusement. "All right, now I believe it." She grabbed him in a big hug, full of relief. Then she pulled back and swatted him on the shoulder. "Where were you? We looked everywhere."

"The Force brought me here. One minute, I was running for my life. The next, I'm in an old Jedi temple with this guy." He jerked his thumb at Jacen. "We're not sure how."

"Oh, so it's your fault?" Sabine gave Jacen a hug.

"Maybe? Last time I checked, Jedi powers didn't include time travel."

Ezra said, "Nobody ever said they didn't include time travel, did they?"

Sabine rolled her eyes. "It's definitely you. I'm really glad to see you, and not just because you're alive and safe. We could really use a Jedi on our side." Without even looking, she shoved Jacen. "Or two."

"You've said," he said, rubbing his arm. "Did you get in touch with Ahsoka?"

"I sent a message. I didn't get a reply, but she sent a pingback. She knows." She looked at Ezra. "She said you were the one who saved her from Vader all those years ago. That was like time travel. Was this the same thing?"

"Not exactly," Ezra said. "I walked between the worlds to do that. This time I just fell."

She looked at Jacen. "You fell where you needed to be, in front of one of the few people who would know who you were. That has to mean something."

Ezra said, "You said I was famous."

Jacen shrugged. "You were a little famous."

The past tense was important, Ezra had noticed. He'd wandered through the base all day yesterday, meeting people. No one had batted an eye at his name. Even though his lightsaber was at his side, he hadn't mentioned he was a Jedi and nobody asked. The other resistance fighters accepted him as another new member of General Syndulla's crew, not as a returned hero from long ago.

"Only three days? Really?" Sabine asked as they made their way back towards the hangar where the _Ghost_ was docked.

"Plus one or two for travel. I don't know how far the Purrgil took us."

"Far. We found Thrawn and the others out in the Unknown Regions. We got lucky. Not lucky enough."

Ezra watched a handful of pilots hurry by, heading for their ships. "What's been happening since I was gone? Zeb says you've got the Darksaber, which I thought meant you run Mandalore now, but Mandalore is complicated. We won the war, but we're fighting again, but not with Princess Leia's resistance, and Hera says that's complicated, too."

"Mandalore didn't come out well from the war," she said. "Things got worse after. We're starting to come together as a people again, but it's hard, and most of them are only willing to come to the table because of this." She touched the handle of the weapon at her belt. "That means they listen to what I propose, but there's an old saying about asking a question to five Mandalorians and getting ten opinions in reply. A lot of the opinions right now mean avoiding the New Republic and ignoring the First Order. The last war was too costly. They're afraid another one will annihilate us."

"And the First Order is the Empire?"

"Yes and no," said Jacen. "Ex-Imperials formed the First Order, but we don't know what their game plan is, other than taking over control of as many systems as they can. Ahsoka thinks there's more to it. She's been off trying to discover what she can."

Sabine said, "Our undercover operatives have been doing the same. That's where Alexsandr is now. He's infiltrated a low-level First Order group, and he's gathering information."

They reached the _Ghost_ and boarded. Ezra asked Sabine to tell him about the new paintings. Away from discussions of warfare and politics, her face lit up the same way it had when she was younger, explaining her deliberate use of negative space in one piece, and showing him Jacen's old toys that served as her inspiration for a mural on one wall in Kanan's room. Chopper bumped her and reminded her he was due for another touch-up.

"I'll get to it," she said with a sigh,

"'Bout time you got here," Zeb said, coming aboard mid-discussion about color choices.

"I was busy, but I had to see for myself."

"It's weird, right?"

Ezra said, "Try leaving home for a week, and coming back to find out all your friends are old enough to retire."

This earned him matching glowers from Sabine and Zeb, and a snicker from Jacen. As he turned, he noticed Hera standing in the doorway, silently watching them, her face unreadable. He had the strange feeling she'd been there for a while. "Fine," he said, "You're not old enough to retire. Old enough to be grandparents?"

Jacen said, "Let's not go there again. Please."

Sabine noticed Hera and walked closer. "Hey. How are you holding up?"

"Oh, I'm fine." She brushed at one eye irritably. "I've never seen all of you together before. I was appreciating the view."

"It's weird, right? But things are looking up. We've got Ezra back now. We might win this thing after all."

"We might."

* * *

Ezra scrounged their dinner together by himself, trying to make sense of the new foodstuffs in the galley and refusing help. Hera broke away from work to eat with them, calmer now than she'd been. Jacen had told him quietly that he was sure this situation was dredging up emotions she'd set aside years ago. Ezra had vanished a month after Kanan's death. Both losses were connected for the rest of the family. Now he was back, but Kanan wasn't ever coming back. Old griefs were reawakening even amidst the joy sparked by Ezra's return.

"Complicated," Ezra had said.

"Exactly."

Life in the future was nothing but complications, he decided, as he chewed his way through his meal.

A signal chimed over the comms. Sabine said, "That'll be Ahsoka."

Hera said, "Chopper, put it through in here." A moment later, Ahsoka's hologram appeared in the lounge, projected by the holotable.

Ezra stared. Yes, his other friends had aged. He had never wondered what a Togruta's aging process looked like, but here was his friend, and she was an old woman, heavy with years and knowledge. She looked at him for a long moment.

"What happened?"

"I came through time."

She nodded as if in thought. "That explains why we couldn't find you."

"It's good to see you," he said. "When can you get here?"

"I'm not coming. I have too much to accomplish, and I'm afraid we're running short on time. The First Order is planning a major strike very soon. I don't know where or when, and I have to keep digging."

Hera said, "You're sure?"

"Yes." She looked at Ezra again. "What do you think of the future? Think before you answer."

Ezra stopped short with his glib, 'It's complicated,' and gave her question due consideration. "It's not like what I was hoping for. I thought we'd win, and we'd stay won."

"Futures are like that. After wars, you must fight for the peace early, often, and in the correct places. The right pebble on the first day prevents an avalanche on the last." She seemed to be talking more to herself than to him. "We missed the pebbles."

Zeb said, "Everybody thinks that. If I'd only seen what was coming, I could've stopped it."

"Right," said Sabine. "It's the fantasy you get from hindsight."

Hera looked at Ahsoka. "You're thinking something about Ezra."

"I'm here to help," he said. "I fought the Empire. I can fight the First Order with you."

"I don't think that's your task," Ahsoka said. "You are a pebble, Ezra Bridger. If we had you in the right place decades ago, we might not be facing an avalanche now."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there," he said.

Hera said, her voice tight, "You want to send him back."

"What?" said Sabine, as Ahsoka nodded solemnly.

"Travel in one direction implies travel in both. If Ezra returns to the place in his timeline where he left, he may be in place to help prevent us from going down this road."

"They were going to kill me," Ezra said. "Besides, I'm not sure how I got here. I don't know how to get back."

"Um," said Jacen. "I've been thinking about what happened since he came through, and I've been looking some things up. I think it's possible."

"Trying to get rid of me?"

"Just examining the options. Time travel is a huge achievement. Imagine what how useful it would be if we could replicate what we did."

"Or dangerous," said Hera. "Playing with time isn't a good idea."

Ahsoka said, "It may be our best idea. Jacen, can you send Ezra back?"

He took a defensive half-step away. "I don't know. I think it might be possible, that's all."

"This is crazy," Sabine said. "We just got Ezra home, and you want to send him away?"

"I agree," said Hera. "It's too dangerous, not just for the potential you're unlocking, but also for Ezra's safety."

Ezra stood aside, listening to them argue. Zeb agreed with Ahsoka. Any chance at a better future was good with him. Sabine asked, "What if it's worse? We'll have sent him back for nothing."

He nudged Jacen and tilted his head, walking back towards the galley while the others talked. Quietly, he asked, "How would you do it?"

"We find another nexus powerful with the Force. They're around. There's one on this planet, but I didn't find anything useful the last time I explored it. Then we reverse what we did last time."

"Which we're not quite sure of."

"I have a few ideas."

Ezra watched the rest. He'd walked away from his family for their sakes. It had been such a short time ago for him, and a lifetime for them, Jacen's whole life. Ahsoka thought he could give them all a chance at a better future if he went back to his own time. If he lived. "They would have killed me," he said to himself. "They didn't feed me. I didn't have my lightsaber, or a blaster, or anything."

"Everyone says you were always good at thinking your way out of trouble. Are you up to trying?"

If he waited, they'd talk him into staying forever. Maybe he could make a difference here, but the moment Ahsoka had said her suspicion, something inside him had known she was right.

He tilted his head at them. Jacen nodded. "Mom," he said, "I've got something on my ship that I think will help. Ezra, can you help me carry it?"

"Sure." He took one last, longing look at Zeb, Hera, Sabine, and Chop, and the ghostly image of Ahsoka. "Let's go."

* * *

He felt the emanation of the Force as they neared the site, darting down a narrow canyon with barely a meter to each side of the ship. Jacen flying them effortlessly, even as Ezra's nerves jangled with each sudden turn. "You're pretty good," he said as they moved through the deep ravine, a slim crack of sky high overhead.

"I'm very good," Jacen replied. "I thought about going into the racing circuit for a while. I don't think that's my path either." The comm buzzed again, for the fourth time. For the fourth time, Jacen muted it.

"Aren't you a little old not to know what you want to do when you grow up?"

Jacen focused on the flight path. "Everyone secretly believes they're destined to do something important and special. Most people aren't and don't, but the odds are stacked in my favor that it's true in my case. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Maybe I was meant to do this." He brought the ship down with a light touch.

They didn't need a map. Ezra heard the humming in his mind like a song growing louder as they approached, shivering against the chilly night air inside traveling cloaks; Jacen had an old one that nearly fit him. Our of habit, Ezra lit his lightsaber to shine light into the crevasses. There.

A fragment of cliff wall had sheared off perhaps a hundred years ago, opening onto a cavern thick with crystals. Not kyber, he knew without knowing how, but another mineral rich with energy he could almost touch. "You found this?"

"The last time I came to visit. I don't know what it is, but I think it'll be enough to help." Jacen removed the pack he'd brought, and to Ezra's surprise, handed it over.

"What's this?"

"A few things. Some rations packs. Your clothes. Nothing much."

"Thanks." He'd almost forgotten about the clothes he'd arrived in. The rations would help stave off starvation for a while when he got back until he figured out what to do.

"You're going to have to leave your lightsaber with me," Jacen said, almost apologetically. "We know you didn't have it with you back then."

"I guess." Ezra passed it over. Jacen clipped it to his own belt, then sat down. Jacen had explained his idea on the way here. Within a minute, Ezra managed to drop into a light meditative state, and felt the comforting presence of a second mind near his. Together, they reached out with the Force, collecting the energy from the mass of crystals, and diving into the memory of how it felt the first time Ezra had passed through. He'd been afraid, and desperate. Now he was determined. They would open a portal from this nexus to another, and all he had to do was travel through, like he was walking from one room into the next.

He wanted to tell Jacen to tell the rest of the family he was sorry for leaving again without a goodbye. He wanted to thank him for helping him. He wanted to stay longer, and tell him every story he could remember about the old days, and about Kanan.

Power shot through him. Light, color, scent, sound, and the sensation that he was falling. Ezra dropped, and fell against the ground, knocking the wind out of him. He lay there a moment, knowing he had to get up, had to move, had to go before the stormtroopers returned.

He opened his eyes.

This wasn't the rainforest. A flat plain, lush with prairie grass, stretched out far in his vision. In the distance he saw conical hill formations that he had only ever seen on one planet.

Beside him, he heard a groan. He flipped his head around to see Jacen blinking up at the sky, confused. Lounging near them, huge and complacent, lay a pack of loth-wolves.

"Karabast."


	3. Chapter 3

"Don't be afraid," Ezra told Jacen. "The loth-wolves aren't dangerous."

Jacen sat up slowly, keeping the wolves in view. "They are dangerous. They bring whatever danger you do to them." He held out his palm. One of the wolves approached, sniffed him, and walked off, his friends following.

"Force nexus."

"Right. Maybe this is good news. Maybe we brought you back to Lothal right after you left."

Ezra didn't think so. Lothal had been in terrible condition when he'd left, thanks to the Empire's fist. "You're not supposed to be here now."

Jacen flipped the hood of his traveling cloak over his brightly-colored hair. "It'll be fine for a little while. We'll go into town, find out the date, and figure out what to do next."

With little other option, Ezra agreed, setting out towards the distant sight of the city. "Have you spent a lot of time on Lothal?"

"Not a lot. We used to come to visit when I was a kid. There's a park where the factory and the fuel depot used to be. They put up a memorial for everyone who lost their lives under the Empire. Your parents are listed there along with my dad. Sabine asked them not to put your name on it because you were going to come back someday."

"Stories every night?"

"Every night."

* * *

Even before they reached Capital City, Ezra was sure this wasn't the right time. The Imperial Complex loomed over the skyline, but the city air lacked the dark fumes of the fully-operational factory. "We're too early."

"Yeah," Jacen said, following his gaze. "We won't stay long. We'll swipe a ship and head to the Lothal Temple. That should still be around now, right?"

"It should. I can get us there. I'm guessing you never went to the site."

"I did once with Ahsoka, but it's completely gone. That was you?"

"That was us." He wondered if Ahsoka or any of them had tried to explain Kanan's hand in that last adventure.

They split up as soon as they entered the outskirts. "Do you know where the posting agency is?" Ezra asked. Jacen nodded. "I'll meet you there."

"Just find out the date," said Jacen. "Don't do anything like shoot your younger self by accident."

"I won't." He wasn't going to see his younger self at all, he hoped. He'd figure out when they were, and if he happened to take the long way to their rendezvous point via his old home, that was his own business. Jacen could worry about finding them a ship to steal.

Everything looked brighter than he remembered from his last visit home. The Empire was everywhere, of course they were, but while they cracked the whip overhead, the heavy boot hadn't yet ground down the people here. He didn't look for news or a calendar at first. A spark of hope burned inside him. Maybe they'd arrived early enough. Maybe he'd been given a chance.

His feet brought him to the old, familiar, narrow street leading to his childhood home. His heart pounded in his chest. Should he knock? What could he say? He'd pretend to be lost and looking for directions. Yes. His parents had been helpful to anyone coming to their door. He would ask, and maybe his dad would come with him to show him the way.

His heart moved into his mouth as he reached the door, but there was the Imperial symbol painted on the wall, and the windows were boarded up.

They were gone. By the look of things, they'd been gone for years.

A Jedi had to let go.

He made his way back towards the posting agency, keeping the hood of his cloak up. Nothing to see here, not a stranger passing through from, he checked, four years after this.

Jacen was already waiting for him outside. "Where were you?"

"Figuring out the past. I know when we are. Do we have a ride?"

Jacen nodded. "I found the perfect little ship." He led Ezra back towards one of the small hangers littering this part of the city. Ezra stopped short.

"We can't take that one."

"Why not? It's exactly what we need. I bet I can slice into it in a minute."

"I bet if you try, the security protocols Chop installed will electrocute you." He pointed. "That's the first _Phantom_."

"The one you wrecked?"

"I didn't wreck it. I took it on a mission where it fell into an exploding.... Hey, this isn't about me. We can't steal that one."

But Jacen had stopped listening. His eyes went past Ezra, and were fixed. Ezra turned. If the _Phantom_ was here, then of course the team was, too. No idea where Zeb and Sabine had gotten to, but Jacen wasn't focusing on Zeb and Sabine. Ezra pushed Jacen against the wall. "Don't stare. They're criminals. They will notice."

"They're not criminals."

Ezra said, "I met them while they were stealing Imperial cargo, and nobody knew they were working for the Rebellion except Hera. Trust me."

Jacen pointedly looked away, but kept glancing over. Ezra didn't blame him. Hadn't he tried to do the same thing? "They look happy."

"It's part of the job. When we went somewhere new and needed to scout the area, Kanan and Hera would act like some young couple out on a date."

"Act?"

"They said 'act.' We all knew better."

Jacen turned, pretending to glance over the street while he peeked at his parents again. "That's really him."

"Yeah." Seeing Kanan in the window in the World Between Worlds had ached. Ezra knew if he had reached through, he could have grabbed Kanan and pulled him to safety the same as he had for Ahsoka, and he knew if he had done so, he'd have undone everything Kanan had died to achieve. Now Kanan stood a few meters away, doing reconnaissance while pretending to be out for a stroll with his favorite person in the galaxy, or knowing him, the other way around. His eyes were clear and bright, and if Ezra read the old self-doubts in the line of his shoulders, he also read the easy joy in his gaze as he chuckled at something Hera said.

They would meet Ezra in a few weeks. He didn't dare talk go talk to Kanan now as much as he wanted to, not without risking a paradox. It was the lesson he needed after he'd almost risked the same thing to see his own parents.

He remembered something Kanan had told him once.

"It's too late for me," Ezra said now, quietly. He gave Jacen a push. "But not for you. Go say hi."

Jacen turned to him in terror. "What? No. I'll mess up the time stream."

"Not unless you tell them who you are, so don't."

"What do I say?" Nervousness radiated from him so hard Ezra could feel it.

"Go up to him and ask for directions to the Capitol Building. Play it cool." He gave him another push. "You'll never get another chance."

He made a face, a bitter and wild look in his eyes. "I could tell him to stay away from fuel depots."

Ezra shook his head and Jacen shrugged. "Just say hello."

He turned and walked away from Jacen, heading to the bay beside the _Phantom_. Then he turned his feet, watching out of the corner of his eye as Jacen made his way over to his parents with a passable fluster of a new arrival to Lothal.

"Excuse me. Hi. Sorry." He smiled quickly and thinly. "I just arrived. I don't suppose you know how to get to the Capitol Building? I'm meeting a friend there."

"I'm afraid not," said Hera.

"We're new here ourselves," Kanan said. He wrapped an arm around her. Ezra was amused to note how much of an act it was and also how much it was not. "First day on world. We're thinking about moving here. We heard it's a good place to raise a family."

"Oh you should," said Jacen. "Lothal's a great planet. I mean, I've heard it's great."

"From your friend," Hera said. Her suspicions were rising the more he talked to them. "I hope you find them."

"I'm sure I will." He made no move to go. He was going to draw this out. This was bad. Confirming Ezra's worst fears, Jacen said, "Hey, why don't I show you around?"

Hera said, "You said you just arrived."

Kanan was looking at Jacen with more scrutiny now, but he always did have a knack for sensing others with the Force. "Do we know each other? I have a strange feeling we've met."

"No. Ah, probably not. I'm from Kalo's World. We don't get many visitors. I should go. I just...."

Ezra gestured from where he stood to get him to stop. Either Jacen saw or he knew his time was up. "Oh," Jacen said. "There he is. Nice to meet you. Really, really nice to meet you."

"Right," said Kanan. Hera watched him go as Ezra kept his face in his hood.

"Buddy!" Ezra said in a Core accent. "Let's go get a drink." Jacen fell into step beside him. Ezra said under his breath, "They're watching us. Keep a lookout in case they follow us."

"Why would they follow us?"

"Because you are absolutely terrible at this and now they think you're an Imperial spy or a thief."

"I thought it went fine." A pleased smile had planted itself on his face. "He was just this guy. And they were happy. I always wondered."

Ezra heard the questions inside his words. He tried to imagine wondering if he'd been wanted rather than a last happy accident, never knowing if a parent he'd never met had been someone to admire, questioning if the stories he'd been handed all his life had been kind embellishments painting over the truth like a mural of toys covering a dull wall.

"Yeah. He was, and they were."

"Good."

* * *

The ship they stole wasn't as nice as the _Phantom_ but it did the job. Jacen rigged the autopilot to return to Capital City after they disembarked. "There. Now we're not stealing, just borrowing for a while."

"Under the law it still counts as stealing," Ezra said. "It earns you a week in Imperial jail, though not prison unless you do it more than three times. Five times for a vehicle smaller than a landspeeder." During the coldest parts of winter, a joyride on a speederbike would get him inside and fed for a week. Knowledge of the law had been useful back then. Which was 'now' for another Ezra out there who didn't know his life was about to change.

Jacen said, "When this is all over and you're home for real, I want to hear more stories. It sounds like I missed out on quite a few."

"It's a deal." Ezra wasn't sure how this would work. If he went back, if he lived, if Ahsoka and Sabine found him, he'd return to his friends within a few years. Jacen would grow up knowing him, and the person he was now would be replaced with someone new. What would happen to the guy standing next to him now, reaching out with his powers to help Ezra activate the Temple opening? Would he fade out of existence? Would he go back to a spoked-off time that never happened, or was there nowhere to go back to? Jacen may have given up everything to help Ezra, including his own existence.

"By the way," Ezra said as the Temple rotated and rose before them. "I know I've said this before, but thank you for all you've done to help me. I don't understand why, but I appreciate it."

"I thought it was obvious." Jacen tilted his head. "I always wanted a little brother, too."

They went inside, the Force echoing around them. Ezra was unsurprised to note the layout of the Temple had changed again. Ahsoka had said it became what you needed. This time, he needed a way back. "Through here," he said. Jacen lit Ezra's lightsaber to show the way. Ezra was going to miss having that with him, but it couldn't be helped.

They came into an area Ezra had never seen before, but knew was right. "I've been thinking. This seems to take both of us. So we need to go back to where I was stranded, then send you home from there and hope I don't get dragged along with you."

"Or dragged off course to somewhere else we shouldn't be," Jacen reminded him. "This was not a planned detour."

Ezra had thought about that, and thought about the wolves that had waited for them. They were the nexus that had brought them here, and they never did things without purpose even if their purpose was opaque. The wolves had a non-linear relationship with time. Maybe they'd needed Kanan to meet his son. They'd said something to him, something he'd refused to tell Ezra before that last, doomed mission. Ezra remembered how peaceful Kanan had seemed that final day and night, even with Hera in terrible danger, as though he'd known beyond doubt everything would turn out all right for the people he'd loved.

"I'm sure we'll wind up where we need to be," Ezra said. He sat and closed his eyes. Jacen followed suit. Together they searched for the place in the Force they had activated twice now. This got easier each time, and there was a dangerous thought. Too easy to do meant it would be too hard to resist. They had to finish this, and separate, and stop before they did irreparable harm.

The familiar burst of sensory overload hit him, and a moment later, so did the rich, thick smell of life and rot and wet. Ezra opened his eyes and saw the enormous flower pulsing with the Force, the thing that had taken him on his trip. Jacen lay beside him on the ground, and asked with a voice muffled by the forest floor, "Did we do it this time?"

"We made it." He listened for the sounds of pursuit, worried that he'd left and returned in time to be captured again, but there was nothing. He'd shifted in time, by days or hours or years. "I'd give a lot for a holofeed right now."

"Sorry, haven't got one on me." He looked around. "The good news is this looks like the place Sabine described. They'll be along to find you."

"Yeah, but how long from now? How old were you?"

Jacen looked at the flower rather than at Ezra. "I was eight when they came home empty-handed."

Ezra shivered even in the humid rainforest heat. "I'm stuck here for the next eight years?"

"Unless we skipped a few years on our way back." Jacen looked at him sadly. "I don't think we did."

"I don't think so either. I guess that's the point. I'm the pebble, like Ahsoka said. I have to start at the beginning to stop the avalanche. I know some of what's to come. I'll do what I can to help stop it. That's what we do, right?"

"It's who we're meant to be." Jacen gave him a nudge. "Open the pack I gave you."

Puzzled, Ezra shrugged it off and opened it. There were his clothes, and neatly-stacked piles of rations, and a curious-looking handle which he pulled out. "This isn't my lightsaber."

"It's mine. Yours can't be here without causing a paradox. A Jedi doesn't need a lightsaber, but it helps when you've got stormtroopers on your tail."

Ezra wasn't sure this wouldn't cause another paradox, but he wasn't about to turn it down. Instead of saying thanks for the millionth time, he reached out and gave Jacen a hug. After a second, Jacen returned it.

"I'll see you later," Jacen said.

"Counting on it," said Ezra.

The flower pulsed beside them as they reached out together one last time. Ezra's eyes were open as he watched Jacen vanish in a flash of light. As soon as the afterimages were gone from his sight, he reached out again with his powers, and, as he suspected, found that he wasn't capable of touching that same place inside the Force without a friend beside him to help. For better or worse, he was stuck here until Ahsoka and Sabine found him.

He clipped the lightsaber to his belt under his borrowed cloak. He put on the rucksack again, testing the weight. Then he set out deeper into the forest, away from where Thrawn and his men searched for him, waiting for the future to arrive.


End file.
